Servings: 12 – 15 Time: About 30 mins Difficulty: Easy
This classic biscuit recipe is adapted from the excellent “Biscuits and Brownies” book, in the “Best Baking” series. They have a lovely texture and taste. Choose the jam you prefer or make a range of colours and flavours to impress guests.
Ingredients
- 160g unsalted butter, softened
- 80g caster sugar
- 210g plain flour, sifted
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 270g jam (Avoid “lumpy” jam or be prepared to sieve it.)
- icing sugar for dusting
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas 3. Grease and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in the flour, bicarb. soda and vanilla extract. Bring the mixture together gently then lightly knead for a few minutes. (If you have time you could pop the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes, wrapped in cling film, but this isn’t essential.)
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 1cm thickness and cut out 5cm diameter decorative rounds. Use a small plain circular cutter (about 2 cm diameter) to make holes in half of the decorative rounds. (You can recycle all the off cuts and make more biscuits, but try not to overwork the dough, otherwise the biscuits may be chewy.)
- Place all the biscuits on two baking trays leaving space between them. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until set, but not darkened. Give them a few minutes on the tray then use a spatula or fish slice to lift them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- When they’re cool, spread each “unholed” biscuit with a thin layer of jam, then sandwich a “holed” biscuit on top. If necessary spoon a little more jam into the holes. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
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